Virgin Mobile USA nixes fully unlimited prepaid plans

July 14, 2011 By Derek Mead

Virgin Mobile USA, now owned by Sprint, will no longer offer its prepaid unlimited plans in favor of having data usage limits with data throttling.

No one can say it was unexpected: Sprint, the lone major wireless provider still offering true unlimited plans, has just decided to test out the data-limiting water with its recently-acquired Virgin Mobile USA service. Virgin’s prepaid plans will still be fully unlimited until October, when Sprint says it will start throttling customers’ data speeds based on usage.

Sprint users needn’t worry, because the change is limited to the Virgin brand. But depending on how cynical you are, Sprint is either reshaping its Virgin business plan to face the fact that an unlimited prepaid service is hard to find success with, or, more dastardly, testing out the reaction to data metering in a sub-brand before rolling it out across the board.

“Based on current usage patterns, fewer than three percent of Virgin Mobile USA customers use more than 2.5GB of data usage per month,” Virgin said in a statement. “After reaching this level, this minority of customers may experience slower page loads, file downloads and streaming media.”

Data wise, the Virgin plan is still technically unlimited, but users who reach a 2.5GB monthly threshold will see data speeds reduced dramatically until the next month’s cycle begins. The lower rate is a paltry 256KB per second; Virgin’s 3G hotspot, for example, advertises normal speeds between 600 and 1400 kbps.

The plan mirrors T-Mobile, who first used the idea of data-throttling, as opposed to AT&T and Verizon who force users to pay for more data once they exceed the cap. It’s tough to tell which type of plan will be more successful. T-Mobile and now Virgin still offer unlimited data, albeit at reduced speeds, but customers won’t be hit with extra fees. With AT&T and Verizon, however, customers have to pay extra once they exceed the limit, but aren’t stuck with a slow phone for the rest of the month. And while Sprint users are as yet unaffected, they can’t be blamed if they feel like the clock is ticking.

Showing 18 comments

Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Ted Moore at 10:52pm 14th July 2011 This was inevitable.
Jacob at 2:05pm 14th July 2011 Ugh. Am I gonna have to switch to a new carrier? I NEED my internet fast. They're making cell phone plans harder to come up with... FYI, some people might not have internet at home & they have to use their phones...
Rusty Shackleford at 10:10am 14th July 2011 Within a year I think we'll see "unlimited" Internet access dry up on every wireless carrier. There are just too many ways to eat right through it these days, wireless carriers can't afford to support even the small percentage of people who go nuts with it.
Ian Bell at 10:06am 14th July 2011 All of these companies will offer something for free to attract new customers, then once they hit their quota, they will simply stop offering the plan. And that's what is going on here. Personally I am surprised that Virgin Mobile is still in business. As a challenger brand, only value-conscious consumers would buy them, specifically for their unlimited plans (like Boost Mobile). Now Virgin is killing off their customer base.
fg8578 at 9:46am 14th July 2011 This can't be blamed on Sprint -- this is all the result of the AT&T / T-Mobile merger. If you don't believe me, just ask Dan Hesse!